• 12:47 So, O2IE offer inclusive calls to UK numbers while you're in the UK, but when you're at home, they charge international rates. Hmmm.
• 14:16 Off into town to pay the rent.
• 14:46 Nearly left my wallet in the bank - realised just in time. Phew!
• 20:03 Pizza and chips in the oven. Smells so good, I'm drooling...
• 22:31 He's better than Tim ever was, isn't he?
• 22:34 I do feel sorry for the Swiss fella; the whole crowd cheers every time he cocks up. (C'mon, Andy!)
• 22:41 So, Andy Murray vs. Ferrero Rocher in the quarter finals. Go Andy! #wimbledon

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 17:05 Seriously, Sky News, SOMETHING else must have happened since Michael Jackson died...
• 22:38 Think am slightly OCD when it comes to apps on my iPhone. Am unable to arrange them in a manner which pleases me.

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 13:43 First tweet from my lovely shiny new iPhone 3GS! Yay!
• 15:44 A third of the way through copying my music onto my iPhone. This is the downside of storing my music on a networked hard drive. *sigh*
• 17:24 500 tracks to go! Come oooooon...
• 20:55 Apple Mail.app seems slow to recognise that gmail accessed by IMAP has been read elsewhere - anyone else getting that?

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 07:38 On my way into Galway to try to get an iPhone!
• 08:56 Just waiting for the OK from O2 head office. Come the fuck on!
• 09:54 Still nothing from O2. Sat in a cafe, chewing my mug of coffee in anticipation.
• 11:59 So, no iPhone 3GS yet, but as soon as they are able to get through on the fax line to head office I should be sorted. Yay!
• 12:03 My orange juice smells like wet cat. I think it's the glass... Maybe we need to put some more rinse-aid in the dishwasher...
• 12:31 There's a family on "Holiday Showdown" who regularly go to Birmingham on holiday... As if!
• 12:48 Michael Jackson will be survived by his children Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, Prince Michael II, 7, and his last nose, 4.
• 13:34 5 hours with no word from bloody buggery O2. This is becoming a saga now... [/Papa Lazarou]
• 15:31 Starting to get very annoyed that I haven't heard about my iPhone yet. 7 hours to fax through a form???
• 16:24 Unable to get through to the store, I called customer services. My iPhone account was approved at 2:30. Nice of them to tell ME that...
• 18:13 Very. Fucking. Annoyed.
• 18:50 JUST got through to the O2 store. I could have collected my iPhone at 2:30pm. They close in 10 minutes. GRAAAARRRR!
• 20:00 Right. Off to collect Chinese food for tea. Sweet and sour chicken, nom!
• 21:29 Oof. Full of chinese. May burst. Watch out.
• 22:35 Arse. I broke my own cardinal rule and fed an über troll. Couldn't resist.
• 22:49 I managed to keep the front door open while it smelled of cow poo, but I can't cope with the flies. *slam* *swelter*
• 00:32 Right, the trolls are fed and tucked in for the night with plenty to keep them going. Night!

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

Landers kicked me out of bed at 7:15 this morning so we could go into Galway to try to get me an iPhone. The new model was launched here today, and despite reassurances from the staff who run the o2.ie forums, indications were that stock was going to be very limited, particularly of the 32GB model, which is the one I wanted.

Got to the store at 8:15, 15 minutes after they opened. Two members of staff, no customers in sight. They'd sold one 32G model already, and said they'd only had a few delivered.

We asked for a 32GB for me, to be added to Landers' contract as a second line as I don't have a job and wouldn't get a contract approved. After about seven seconds deliberation, Landers decided he wanted one too, and asked for an upgrade for his iPhone. The girl said she'd try her best but she thought it might be limited to one per customer because of the limited supply, which was fair enough.

We filled out some very brief paperwork, and were told to go and have a coffee, she had to fax it off for approval and would call when she heard back from head office.

We went and had breakfast. We had coffee. I put more money in the parking meter. Two hours passed. We went back to the shop, and the girl said she was just about to call us (yeah, right), the fax number was very busy with all the stores trying to get contracts approved, and she hadn't been able to get through. Also, we could only have one phone, like she thought.

We decided to go home, and she said she'd call. This was 10:30am.

Come 3:30pm, I'm starting to get antsy, so I call the store. It rang out.

I try, periodically, for two hours.

No answer.

I appreciate that they are probably busy dealing with customers in-store, but come on, SOMEBODY must be able to answer the phone. They aren't all dealing with customers 100% of the time.

Eventually, I called O2 customer services, pretended to be Landers, and asked about the approval. It went through at 2:30.

So where's my fucking phone call?!

So. It may well be that there is a 32GB black iPhone 3GS waiting for me to collect it in the O2 store on Shop Street in Galway.

Alternatively, it may be that the girl got fed up of waiting for my paperwork to be processed and gave it to the next person who came into the shop looking for one.

We're not prepared to make the 70km round trip (again) just to find it's the latter. I've been calling ever since.

No. Fucking. Answer.

Grraaaaarrrr!

----

UPDATE:

I JUST managed to get through, it's all sorted and my phone is still there. I could have picked it up at 2:30. They close at 7. Fucking fuckers. I will be collecting it tomorrow morning.

I shall wait until it's in my hands before I send my strongly worded email.

• 17:13 Ants in my pants! Have the cashola for an iPhone 3GS when they're launched over here tomorrow, but will there be any available?!
• 17:28 Barbecue time! Beefburgers with slices of gouda cheese melting on top and lashings of ketchup. *drool*
• 19:01 Just had a call from O2 IE to say NO pre-order, stores open at 8:30, first come first served. Odd, the email from O2 said stores open at 8.
• 22:19 Unconfirmed reports of Michael Jackson having a cardiac arrest, currently in a very bad way. is.gd/1dslA
• 22:23 Cardiac arrest could be due to an overdose, right? #michaeljackson
• 22:25 Lots of tweets about a sleeping pill overdose for Michael Jackson. Nothing concrete though...
• 22:31 People are tweeting that Michael Jackson is actually dead from an overdose of sleeping pills.
• 23:09 I do feel sorry for his kids, but I can't help but wonder if one of them is a clone...? #michaeljackson
• 23:13 Twitter seems to be struggling under the strain of people tweeting about #michaeljackson.
• 23:23 LA Times saying they have confirmation from City Officials that Michael Jackson has died. #michaeljackson
• 23:27 Why wouldn't Uri Geller comment on when he last heard from #MichaelJackson? Odd.
• 23:46 RT @gjkooijman okay, so MJ died. Shame. Can we now move on instead of pretending to be sad for someone you called Wacko Jacko yesterday?

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 15:35 2.5 hours until I know whether we can afford to get me an iPhone on Friday...! *crosses fingers and toes*
• 19:58 Off to see Transformers 2 later. I feel like I'm 6 again. *wees with excitement*

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• 13:01 I just bought some herbal sleeping tablets. Reassuringly, the box says "may cause drowsiness".
• 13:16 Oh man, I've got the front door open cos it's so hot, and now the house is full of flies... The downside of being surrounded by fields!

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 21:11 Just back from dropping off @rowwrites at the airport. Had a lovely weekend, much alcohol and food and fun.

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

Just got back from dropping Rowtheboat off at Shannon Airport, finishing off a lovely weekend with her. Details to follow (yeah, right...) but briefly we frequented many pubs, threw the dogs in the lake a few times, and debated crab camouflage.

It was great to see you again, Row!

x

• 14:57 Man I hate hoovering the stairs. I think I might start shaving the dogs in future to prevent stair-hair of this magnitude.
• 15:11 Ok, so I need to leave in (checks watch) (realises he isn't wearing one) (checks clock) 3 and a bit hours. Go-go gadget mop-bucket!
• 15:16 RT @qikipedia: Sometimes even advertising can be Quite Interesting: bit.ly/Tvw1T - Flipping MENTAL advert.
• 15:34 I think one of the cats just fell off the windowsill. A pathetic attempt to get my attention so I'll let him in and feed him. Pah!
• 16:30 Sing singing along to the Ting Tings while I clean. ? blip.fm/~8icsu
• 16:42 Still love this, even though it makes me want to cry. Robyn - With Every Heartbeat. ? blip.fm/~8idkx
• 18:33 Off to collect @rowwrites from the airport, yay!

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 13:02 Our prehistoric Sky+ box is making funny grindy noises... Hope it's the fan and not the hard drive!
• 14:22 LOVING the internet TV plugins for #XBMC.
• 17:15 Woo! On waiting list for iPhone 3G S from store in Galway. Most people want 16GB so I should be in luck. Just need to find some money now...
• 17:21 What is the medical term for the fatty tissue surrounding the clitoris?The wife.
• 17:25 A charity pantomime in aid of paranoid schizophrenic homosexuals descended into chaos yesterday when somebody shouted 'He's behind you?!
• 18:55 My shitty Nokia is having real trouble syncing all my contacts lately. Ah well, no problem after next Friday! :)
• 19:28 There's a beautiful rainbow outside the window. Of course, that means it's raining...
• 23:31 Watching X-Men 3 - man I love the scene between Phoenix and Xavier! Breathtaking!
• 23:48 Disgusted to discover that the official F1 iPhone app, as cool as it is, costs £4.99 PER RACE. Telegraph version is £1.79 full stop.
• 01:22 So, a split F1 championship from next year. That's a bit shit, eh?

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 13:02 I need a one-liner for a father's day card - come on Tweeple, help me out!
• 13:51 T-minus 10 minutes to Irish iPhone announcement!
• 13:55 OK, so the iPhone info is up early - is.gd/14rOG
• 14:18 Soooo if I want a 32GB iPhone 3G S I need to save ?299 by next Friday...
• 16:26 Have made a smoothie from frozen fruits - it's full of seeeeeeds!
• 17:52 If I was on Divided, I'd just be shouting at everyone. "FUCKING PRESS 'A' YOU TWAT!"
• 19:52 Mmmm mojitoooooo... #bliss
• 00:10 Right, speed limiter on my torrent software has clicked off, that means it's time to go to bed! Nuh-night!
• 00:52 How are they making new episodes of The Real Hustle? Surely everyone knows what they look like by now...

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 22:48 Aaaaand you're back in the room!
• 22:48 Watching "Twilight". I can feel myself becoming more emo by the second.
• 22:58 Have given up on Twilight. Onward to Supernatural. Yay, Jensen Ackles!
• 23:51 This is rather cool, Sophie "Moonface" Ellis-Bextor and the Freemasons - Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer ? blip.fm/~8cj3s
• 23:58 Right. I'm off to bed too, then. Noight!

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 13:14 Aaaaah. I getcha. :)) Bit slow on the old up-take-arino today.
• 15:44 Someone seems to be learning! Is truly a miracle.
• 16:17 The troll from "Enchanted" looks exactly like the ogres from "Gummi Bears"...

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

Get a load of this!

A letter from the Royal British Legion to Nick Griffin, which makes interesting reading.

Stop it, Mr Griffin. Not in my name.

• 17:42 Been shopping at Tesco for nice things you can't get at Lidl. Smoothie ingredients aplenty! Nom!
• 21:24 Getting into trouble for farting. Like he never does it...

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

Landers might not like me admitting this but we tend to most of our food shopping at Lidl, because it's convenient, cheap, and you can get stuff there you can't get elsewhere. But you can't get everything there.

We decided to go to Tesco today, not for anything in particular but to get the extras, and maybe something to treat ourselves. We ended up spending €80 but a big portion of that was on white rum for Mojitos later, and another was lager. Also got some bargainous frozen mixed fruit (cherries, blackcurrants, raspberries) which is great for smoothies and puddings - 99c a tub!

Most exciting of all, though - we got a TIGER LOAF! We could never get it over here before, but there's recently been a big push in Tesco to source more things from the UK to stop people travelling up to Northern Ireland to do their shopping. I assume that's something to do with it, anyway.

So, we came home, and let the cats in. I ignored their miaows for food while we unpacked the shopping, but then I saw Huw squatting under the stairs, the little git. He's done it a few times in different spots around the house over the last couple of days - obviously he thinks it's OK now since he wasn't told off for it while he was ill! Not sure what to do except keep kicking him out every time he does it. I really don't want to have to go back to having a litter tray in the kitchen...

• 15:22 Man, the cat still stinks of piss. Poor little fella, I don't want to dunk him in the sink...
• 17:27 Can't decide if I like Dominic Purcell more with hair or with a skinhead... #house
• 21:21 As if it's nearly 9:30! Time flies when you're doing fuck all...
• 21:41 Quick! Peggle for the iPhone and iPod Touch is cheap on the app store for a limited time! Go go go!

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

Well, what did you expect?!

Received in an email from my sister.

• 13:31 *sigh* "Updating iTunes library..." Come the fuck ooon!
• 18:12 O2 in Ireland still being very coy about the release of new iPhone, but just received an email from Apple telling me 26th June is a go...
• 18:26 The downside of those fly-killing window stickers - I have a massive bluebottle going through noisy death-throes on my windowsill.
• 19:06 Listening to Alanis' "Flavors of Entanglement" album. It's nice, but I miss shouty angry Alanis.
• 19:18 Ok, some tracks are a *bit* shouty...
• 23:50 To the bat-bed!

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 16:01 I heart XBMC - xbmc.org/ - great software for organising movies and TV shows on your computer.
• 18:07 Woo! My car is taxed, I can drive again! Yay!
• 18:18 Oooh liking this muchly! The Veronicas - Untouched ? blip.fm/~7zfav
• 19:58 *snigger* ? blip.fm/~7zmjl

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 16:14 Watching "Harper's Island". Unimpressed, so far...
• 17:12 RT @cosmodaddy: RT @flashboy: "Nick Griffin is annoyed that the eggs thrown at him still had their yolks. He only likes the whites". :D
• 17:13 Only just realised blonde Ruby from Supernatural is in Harper's Island. Probably because she's not blonde anymore.

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 17:50 Ok, lets see if Twitter can cope with Apple's keynote speech today - starts in ten minutes!
• 17:57 Is Brown about to step down? Something happening at 6pm...
• 18:16 All aluminium cased Macbooks are now called Pros, even 13". They now have built in batteries and SD card slots.
• 18:17 Doh, forgot about the Air. All aluminium cased Macbooks that aren't the Air are now called Pros.
• 18:29 Snow Leopard is 6GB smaller than Leopard, and takes almost half the time to install. Come on, roll on iPhone stuff! #WWDC
• 18:48 Registered Leopard users can upgrade to Snow Leopard for $29 when it's released in September! #wwdc
• 19:05 iPhone 3.0 tethering confirmed by 22 mobile operators, including O2. Bye-bye 3G dongle! #WWDC
• 19:11 Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe facilities in case you lose it, available to MobileMe subscribers only. #WWDC
• 19:32 Ninety minutes into the keynote, and no sign of new iPhone hardware... Are they waiting til Steve Jobs comes back to announce it? #WWDC
• 19:40 Rent a car with "zipcar" using their iPhone app, and you can beep the horn and unlock the doors right from the app. Pretty cool. #WWDC
• 19:42 An iPhone app that connects to a guitar and provides a load of amp effects. Shame the demo failed... #WWDC
• 19:44 iPhone OS version 3.0 will be available on June 17th, free for iPhone users, $9.95 or local equivalent for iPod Touch users. #WWDC
• 19:47 The iPhone/iPod Touch accounts for 2/3 of all mobile internet usage worldwide. #WWDC
• 19:48 Yaaaaay! New iPhone is called the 3GS - "S" for SPEED, apparently. #WWDC
• 19:53 iPhone 3GS has same basic design, but faster processing, faster 3G, better camera, video capture... #WWDC
• 19:56 iPhone 3GS has voice control. Tell it to play what music you want, call who you want, ask it what's playing... #WWDC
• 19:59 iPhone 3GS has built in compass like Android G1, Google Maps orients to the direction your facing etc. Also has better battery life. #WWDC
• 20:01 iPhone 3GS priced at $199 16GB, $299 32GB, white and black available. Current iPhone 3G will drop to $99 for 8GB. #WWDC
• 20:03 iPhone 3GS available June 19th, but not in Ireland as far as I can tell. Bah. UK OK, though. #WWDC
• 20:05 Most other countries are getting the iPhone 3GS in July. #WWDC
• 20:07 6 other countries will get the iPhone 3GS on the 26th June - hope Ireland's one of 'em! #WWDC
• 20:12 So, that's it. iPhone 3GS is pretty much the same, but more storage, faster processor, better camera and video recording. Coming soon! #WWDC

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

He's much better. Walking around more, eating and drinking more, purring more.

Also, trying to get out more. He's been shut in the kitchen for days, I suppose he's getting cabin fever. We'll let him outside for a while tomorrow, see how he gets on.

I sorted out a litter tray for him, and he's using it which is great. No more cat wee to clean up off the floor! I hate emptying the litter tray, and I hate having it in the kitchen, but it's the lesser of two evils by a long shot.

A couple of days-worth of antibiotics, and he should be right as rain. Panic over, it seems!

Sorry for inundating you with Huw related posts, normal service shall now be resumed.

BCUK have done something wonderful!

If you're at the "My" page and click on the "more New posts from my friends" link, it now takes you to page 2 of your friends' posts, rather than listing the same posts you've just seen on the "My" page!

I asked about that aaaages ago and was told that it was counterintuitive to show page 2. Seems like they've come round to my way of thinking!

Ok, so it's not that wonderful, but I like it very much! Thanks guys!

The BNP ARE xenophobic racists.

The following is taken directly from their constitution. I copied and pasted it from this site; I have the address of the original (badly formatted) PDF document, but I don't want to publicise it and help them get more hits on their website. I'll post the address at the bottom of this post for full disclosure, but don't visit the site if you don't have to, the link above has the same information.

----

SECTION 1: POLITICAL OBJECTIVES
(b) The British National Party stands for the preservation of the national and ethnic character of the British people and is wholly opposed to any form of racial integration between British and non-European peoples. It is therefore committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration and to restoring, by legal changes, negotiation and consent, the overwhelmingly white makeup of the British population that existed in Britain prior to 1948.

SECTION 2: MEMBERSHIP
1) The British National Party represents the collective National, Environmental, Political, Racial, Folkish, Social, Cultural, Religious and Economic interests of the indigenous Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Norse folk communities of Britain and those we regard as closely related and ethnically assimilated or assimilable aboriginal members of the European race also resident in Britain. Membership of the BNP is strictly denned within the terms of, and our members also self define themselves within, the legal ambit of a defined 'racial group' this being 'Indigenous Caucasian' and defined 'ethnic groups' emanating from that Race as specified in law in the House of Lords case of Mandla V Dowell Lee (1983) 1 ALL ER 1062, HL.

----

So, not only do they want to deport everyone who isn't "British", they define "British" as anyone who isn't "Indiginous Caucasian". If they got their way, my nephew and his biological father could be deported or subjected to a regime of apartheid, even though they were both born in the UK. It's absolutely fucking laughable, when you consider the number of times Britain was invaded by other nations in the past. We're a bastard mongrel race, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Have you seen what happens when the gene pool gets too limited?

Of course, the BNP are free to define their membership however they please, within the law. My point is that it gives an interesting insight into their attitudes in general, if you needed one.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the fact that the BNP won two seats in Thursday's election in the UK. I blame everyone who didn't vote without a valid reason (such as being out of the country ) regardless of which county they live in. I hope you're happy with your representatives in Europe.

I hope you vote next time there's an election. You may think your single solitary vote doesn't count, but tell that to all the people who voted for the BNP on Thursday. Their votes counted.

If you're as horrified and embarrassed as I am with this situation, please take a look at this site: Not In My Name. It's a way to register the fact that the BNP don't represent you in any way. They can go to Europe, but definitely not in MY name.

The original address of the BNP constitution is here but PLEASE don't go there.

• 10:41 Huw was MUCH more feisty about not having his pill this morning. A good sign, I think. Still covered in piss, though.
• 14:49 Right, off to mop up more cat piss, put some washing on and get ready to go out!
• 20:19 Getting VERY excited about WWDC tomorrow. I wonder if Twitter will be able to cope this year...?

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

• 16:45 One of my cats is really sick. Urinary infection and dehydration, and he's pissing everywhere! :(
• 17:38 Managed to get Huw to eat something, even though it was only a couple of bites. Max was happy to finish the rest.
• 19:04 Huw is responding well to ear-tickling. I got him purring a minute ago. That means he's fine, right?
• 19:13 And now Huw managed to scramble up onto one of the dining chairs and leave wee all over it. Bless.
• 19:44 Working up the guts to force-feed Huw his next tablet. Hope he doesn't hate me too much...
• 21:21 Tablet dispensed. Only took four goes. I was covered in piss and had to have a shower. Am NOT looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.
• 23:29 Sunburnt shoulders are sorer today than they were yesterday. Surely they should be getting better, no?
• 00:36 Have just realised that as a side effect of Huw feeling better and eating again, it won't just be cat WEE I'm cleaning up tomorrow... Damn.

Automagically posted by LoudTwitter

So, after three attempts at getting a pill down Huw's neck while he was sat on the floor, I picked him up and finally managed to do it with him upside down on my lap. I don't know who was more stressed out, him or me. I do know who was more covered with piss, though.

Had a shower, made hummus (which is chilling in the fridge), watched some telly, and am now going to watch a film with aforementioned hummus and pitta breads, accompanied by a large glass of (diet - yeuch!) coke with a couple of cocktail cherries dropped in for good measure.

Huw is much better than he was, but still a bit unsteady on his feet. I'm much less worried about him than I was last night. It's a great relief, let me tell you!

Not looking forward to tomorrow morning's tablet, though...

I spent some time today at the marvellous site that is Today's Big Thing.

I found these.

First up, literal lyrics based on the really weird video to Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart".

Next, some guy doing runny jumpy flippy things. Some of them are nothing special, some of them are quite spectacular, and it took me a few views to work out where his trousers went at around the 1 minute mark.

Now, a toilet for all those OCD freaks out there. Although having said that, I'm pretty OCD when it comes to public toilets, so I guess it's for me.

And finally, as cute as this is, can you imagine having to live with it 24/7?!

He just came to find me in the living room, dribbling little spots of wee behind him. His back legs and tail are drenched in urine, and I think it's just dripping off him, it's not leaking out or anything. I've moved to the kitchen so I can sit with him, save him a) having to walk so far and b) stinking the living room out.

He seems a bit more perky. His eyes are still really heavy-lidded but he got a bit worked up when I offered him some food, and managed to eat a few bites. I've had to shut Max out of the kitchen or he'd eat everything before Huw got a look in. He's currently miaowing his head off and scratching the door to shreds.

I just followed a long trail of wet footsteps to a massive wee in the hall. Little git.

Still, at least he's weeing!

I read yesterday that Google Street View has been updated with improved navigation and pseudo-3D buildings. Basically, rather than clicking on an arrow to move in a given direction, you have a little blob that follows the cursor, and you double-click to zoom to it's location. It's much better and allows you do zoom along streets much faster.

So, the first place I went to try it out was my parents' house.

And to my horror, I just got a black screen with the words "This image is no longer available". Where before I was able to see my brother looking gormlessly at the camera while talking to his friend, and the blurred-out face of my mom's cat, Fliss, now there's nothing.

A couple of clicks down the road in either direction and the images are restored, and I can even see my brother and his friend again, but directly outside the house, there's nothing.

I did a quick google search, and it looks like the images have been removed by request due to privacy concerns. My mom was quite excited about Street View, so I know it wasn't her. I wonder if Birmingham Social Services have given Google a list of addresses of foster carers to remove? Either that, or the neighbours over the road must have complained.

Bah!

Ok, I touched on this in my last post, but here's the whole story.

Soy let the cats in on Thursday morning, and they both seemed fine, although Huw went straight upstairs to his usual spot by the bookshelf instead of having something to eat. We had planned to go out to the beach that day, but before we left I went upstairs and gave him a bit of fuss. He seemed fine.

We got home at around 4:30 and Max was hanging around looking for food as per usual, so I fed him, and the noise of the food being poured into the bowl normally brings Huw running too. There was no sign of him. I went upstairs and he wasn't there, and I eventually found him lying behind the living room door. He was awake, but pretty unresponsive. He was very floppy and lethargic. I called the vet and they said to take him to get him checked out. He did make his way to the kitchen at one point, limping pretty badly (although he has always had a slight limp). He didn't eat or drink anything, squatted like he was gonna have a wee but nothing came out, and then limped back to the same spot behind the door.

When it was time to go to the vets, I put his catbox down next to him, and he crawled straight in, no fuss. We drove there, and sat in the waiting room. When we eventually got seen, the vet (who looked like a cross between Hanz Fritzl and Vincent Price) had a good feel about, and found what he thought was either a mass of food trapped in Huw's bowel, or a tumour. He said that if it was food, they could sort it out by emptying and removing a small section of his bowel. If it was a tumour, it was probably best to just put him out of his misery. The vet asked if Huw had been passing urine or faeces regularly, but he goes outside so I have no idea. He told me to bring Huw back the next morning for an "ultrasound" (I use the quotes cos I gather he actually had an x-ray), and they would decide what to do after that.

I kept Huw in that night, he spent most of the time in his catbox, and didn't seem to eat or drink anything. There was no urine or faeces to clean up, so I guess that answers that question.

So, yesterday morning I took him back, and left him at the vets. I didn't hear anything til nearly 4:30 when I got a call to say he was having "an operation", no real information. I called at 6:30 and he was still asleep, so I called again at 7:30 and was told he was ready to be collected. They close at 8, and I was half an hour away, so I had no time to ask questions, I just jumped in the car and headed off.

It turns out the blockage was actually in his bladder. The poor little guy has a huge infection, which has probably been developing for a while, and this has lead to the blockage in his bladder. The vet can't guarantee the blockage won't re-form, but I've got antibiotics to give Huw twice a day, and I've got to try to make sure he drinks plenty of water. I was told he might not make it through the night, but if he does he will probably be fine. Dehydration is pretty serious in cats, cos they're so small.

Well, he didn't seem to drink anything at all before I went to bed last night. I checked on him often, but didn't want to mess with him too much. He was pretty zonked from the anaesthetic and painkillers, and barely moved. He did manage to have a couple of little wees, and he was sick a couple of times, but that's about it. There was blood in the urine, but the vet said that was to be expected.

I felt so guilty leaving him on his own downstairs all on his own, so much so that I sat with him for ages before I went to upstairs. I was dreading waking up to find him dead. But I was relieved to find that my worrying was all for nothing.

When I got up this morning, I saw that he had definitely drunk some water, but he didn't seem to have eaten anything. Hopefully the water will keep him going. He's a bit more lively, and moved around the kitchen a bit, stopping often to sit down. I had to force the antibiotic tablet down his throat as usual, and I'm sure he wasn't very pleased with that, but it's got to be done. I gave him some fresh water, and he had a bit to drink, and that's about it so far. He's still pretty out of it, and moving around very slowly if at all. I keep offering him food but he's not interested.

Fingers crossed for a speedy and full recovery, and that he doesn't bite me when I try to give him his second tablet later on.

• 23:41 Ooh, Terminator on BBC1. "Sarah Connor?" "Yeees?" BANG!
• 23:42 Hello, twitterverse, I'm back!
• 00:00 Has anybody anywhere ever fancied Arnold Schwarzenegger? I find it hard to believe so.
• 01:58 Craving toast. Going to bed instead.

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Up: Soy came to visit us.

Down: We had stupidly early flights to Berlin and were in Dublin Airport for far too long.

Up: Berlin was fantastic. Weather not as great as last year but it picked up, although we did get a drenching.

Down: I only managed to obtain single solitary döner from Mustafa's.

Up: I saw, amongst other things, "Netherlandish Proverbs" by Brüegel. It was wonderful, and I noticed so many more details that I've never seen before. I need to go back again to have a look at all the other pictures in the exhibition.

Down: I ran out of time at the museum.

Up: We met some lovely people.

Down: It was over far too soon. A long weekend isn't long enough.

Up: The weather when we got back to Ireland was stunningly hot.

Down: The weather when we got back to Ireland was TOO hot. Sleep fail.

Up: Lovely day at Cong with Soy and the dogs, meeting nice people. Think was actually chatted up by a fella, but his wife was there, and for all he knew, I was "with" Soy. Didn't get his number, though.

Down: I realised my car tax had run out and was therefore driving it illegally. Landers' car from now on!

Up: We bought a fan to help with cool-downage.

Down: Landers had to go away with work until Sunday.

Up: Excellent day at Silverstrand beach yesterday with Soy. The water was so clear, it was like something from the Caribbean. We caught a crab, and named him Jean-Clawed van Crab and fed him a worm. Also made several wondrous sculptures and excavations.

Down: Due to lack of sun cream, am now a marvellous shade of bright red. And quite sore. Also, the lovely clear sea was full of jellyfish.

Up: We had milkshakes at Eddie Rocket's on the way home - Oreo cookie FTW!

Down: When we got home, we discovered that Huw (manky cat) was very unwell. A trip to the vets got him booked in for tests and possible operation the next day. He had some kind of blockage that appeared to be in his bowel. Either mass of food (ew) or tumour (gah!).

Up: We had a barbecue.

Down: I didn't use enough charcoal and we had to finish the food off under the grill. In my defence, it's a new barbecue, and it said explicitly in the instructions to only use a small amount of coal. They also said I'd need a screwdriver and pliers to put it together though, and I didn't, so I should never have trusted them.

Up: Big Brother started last night.

Down: Big Brother started last night.

Up: Huw went in for his operation to sort him out this morning. This is only a tentative up, but is obviously far better than him not having an operation and being put to sleep.

Down: Laura went home today.

Up: But we took the scenic route to the airport. And ate crisps. And also, we passed through a Garda check, so if I'd been naughty and driven my own car, I'd have been fined. Woohoo for not breaking the law!

Down: The petrol gauge in Landers' car is playing up. Apparently, I used no fuel driving from Tuam to Shannon and back again, via Claregalway, Kinvarra, New Quay and Ballyvaughan. This is not possible. I have no idea how much fuel is in the tank.

Up: Huw is home, but very groggy from the anaesthetic and painkillers. It was actually his bladder that was blocked and that's been sorted. Fingers crossed he will pull through.

Down: Huw also has a very bad infection. I have to give him antibiotics, and he may not make it through the night. If he does, he'll be pretty much ok. Also, the vet rather worryingly kept referring to him as "she".

Up: I remembered that we have cocktail cherries.

Down: I only have diet coke to put them in.

Up: It's only one and half days until Landers comes home.

Down: It's one and a half days until Landers comes home.

• 15:11 Waiting for an Oreo cookie milkshake. - Photo: bkite.com/089Xj

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